Apparatus for compressional finishing of fabrics



Aug. 20, 1963 L. H. MESSINGER APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSIONAL FINISHING OFFABRICS Filed Dec. 2. 1960 FIG.

INVENTOR LESTER HUBERT MESSINGER panying claims. r p Thefabove objectsare accomplished by an'improved apparatus embodying features ofthepresent invention,

United States Patent 3,1il0,925 APPARATUS FQR CGMPREESIONAL FINISHING 6FFABRICS Lester Hubert Messiuger, Newark, DeL, assignor to E. I. (in Pontde Nemours and Qompany, Wilmington, DeL, a corporation of Delaware FiledDec. 2-, 1964 Ser. No. 73,433

3 Claims. (til. 26-18% 'lhis invention relates generally to theproduction of fabrics, and more particularly to novel process andapparatus improvements in the finishing of fabrics, especially I thosefabrics which are constructed from a preponderance main rollers and cardclothing belt engaging the fabric, illustrating the compacting action ofthe staples on the fabric.

FIGURE 4 is an oblique view of an alternative roll 5 configuration to beused when it is desired to achieve fabric compaction simultaneously intransverse and longibelt 6 shown enlarged in FIGURE 2. This belt is madevarying degrees of tension. Recently, a new machine has been developedwhereby the fabric is compressed or compacted in the warp direction bymeans of two rolls rotating at different speeds and a doctor bladetangentially located with respect to the faster moving roll. In thistreatment of fabric all the compressional work is done in a short spacebetween the nip of the doctor blade with the faster moving roll and thenip of the two rolls, which leads to relatively minor fabricimprovements. However, this improvement is of value since the priortreatments of fabric under tension always led to changes in dimensions(shrinkage) of the fabric While in use due to the gradual relief ofthese tensions in home or commercial launderrugs.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an improved processand apparatus suitable for finishing all types of fabrics, woven andnon-woven, and particularly synthetic fabrics, While held undercompression. Another object is the processing of such fabrics throughsuch wellknown wet finishing steps as scouring, heat setting, dyeing,and the like in a manner such that the finished fabric -is substantiallyfree from internal tensions and is stabi lized to a superior degree whencomparedto prior finishand advantages will be apparent from thefollowingde;

scription of the invention, the drawings, and the accom- Which generallycomprises means for continuously feeding a fabric, whichis supporteddiscontinuously at a'pluup of card clothing such as is used in normalcarding equipment and consists essentially of wire staples 30 driventhrough a canvas and rubber belt 31. There are approximately 670projecting wires in one square inch of this belting. At the point wherethe fabric 1 enters the bite between the shield 5 and belt 6, the back31 of the belt 6 is against roll 7 and the ends of thewires 30- arespread apart (zone b, FIGURE 3) or divergent with respect to thedirection of bel-t movement due to the flexing of the belt as itconforms to the radius of curvature of the roll 7. The shield 5 holdsthe fabric 1 against the belt 6 until it transfers from roll 7 to roll8. As the belt 6 reverses its curvature, the wires 30 are now betweenthe canvas rubber backing-31 and the roll 8, and this causes the wiresto converge toward the free ends thereof and the longitudinal spacingsbetween the free ends of the wires 30 are greatly reduced (Zone 0,FIGURE 3), resulting in longitudinal compression or compaction of thefabric. Simultaneous transverse and longitudinal compaction may beachieved byutilizing roll configurations of roll 8 and blowsdirectlythrough the fabric before.

losing its throttling superheat. Belt 6 holds the fabric 1 on the st-camroll 8 until the belt is taken off the fabric byro1l.9. The fabric 1continues in contact with the steam nol1'8 until after it passesunderroll 10, when it is lifted off and wound up without appreciabletension by contact with rubber roll 11. The machine is driven by thechain 41 at sprockets 44, 43, and 42. V-belt pulleys 47 and 48 areadjustable the conventional manner to control fabric hold-back; Roll 9is driven faster than rolls 7 and 13 through slip clutch 49 in orderthat the fabric pressure :on the steam roll 8 may be adjusted by hasbeen obtained,

rality :of points, to a'ca'rd clothing belt having projectionsprotruding above the surface thereof, While passing super-,1;

heated steam through the fabric held under compression. Preferably, thefabric is conducted over the-surface of i a foraminous metal drum,through which steam passes to permeate the fabric. The invention alsocomprises ap-pa' ratus for wet-finishing of fabrics which will be morefully described below by reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich: V

FIGURE 1 is a perspective partly schematic view of a machineembodyingfeatures ofthis invention, with certain parts broken away.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side view of the card cloth:

varying theslip torque of the clutch. The wind up roll 11 is, driven bythe V-belt onpulleys 45fand '46. "Using a six-inch diameterfor rolls 7andS, a warpwise compressionjor compactionin the fabric of approximately36% As one illustration of the" process aspects of this invention, asuiting fabric produced from spun yarns composed of 80% aerylonitrilepolymer fiber and 20% .wool

. and treated oaths above-described apparatus, achieved a ing beltshowing its construction with the wire staples.

FIGURE 3 is a somewhat enlarged end view of the total reductioninlength-of the fabric of This 4 contrasted with n 6% reductionin lengthobtained 'when the same fabric'frintreated by theaarrangement of in:vention, was"vigorously steamedat atmospheric pressure ,for fiveminutes. The ,fabric treated on this apparatus had excellent stabilityto "subsequent washing and scouring-operations,-and had markedlyimproved cover-and H fullness. V The process of this invention may beapplied to improve the properties of many types of fabrics such aswoven, knitted, and non-woven fabrics. .The fabrics may be com- Roll 8is a foraminous construction, preferably i the io llowing-exanipl posedof any synthetic or natural staple fibers and/ or con- 7 Typicalexamples of man-made fila-,

tinuous filaments. mentary materials include those made from polyamidessuch as poly(hexamethylene adipamide), poly(hexamethylene, sebacamid e),polycaproamide and copolyamides; polyesters and copolyesters, such ascondensation composite filaments such as, for example, a sheath ofpolyamide around a core of polyester as described in the j copendingapplication of Breen, S.N.' 621,443, filed November 9, 195 6, nowabandoned, and two acrylonitrile polymers differing in ionizable groupcontent spun as a sheath and core as described inthe copendingapplication of Taylor, S.N. 771,677, filed November 3, 1958, now US.Patent S.N.' 3,038,237, and the like. Examples of cellulose derivativefibers include cellulose acetate, cellulose triacetate and regeneratedcellulose. The natural fibers include cotton, wool, silk and the like.The fibers and filaments may be crimped or uncrimped, drawn or undr-awn,

and/ or bulked or unbulked. Two or more fibers or filaments may beblended together in making the fabrics to be processed.P-articularlygimproved resultsare obtained when applying thetreatment'of thistinvention to fabrics composed either entirely ofman-made filamentary material or-of a blend of at least 50% man-madefilamentary;

material combined with lesser amounts of natural fibers and/ orcellulose'derivative fibers. The chief advantage of this invention isthat it provides a. process and apparatus for the wetfinishin'goffabrics whichresults in fabrics that are preshrunk and are much morestable to use and laundering than the same fabrics finished by priormethods; 'In'addition, the resulting fabrics finished by this inventionare more resilient and elastic 'Which causes less pucker in' seam sewingthe fabrics, they haveta rnore pleasing'handthat is more com-- fortableto the wearerftheypossess less wrinkling, bagging, i mussing fuzzing,and they exhibit improved crease and shaperetention, whencompared to thesame fabrics finished by conventional means. fAnother advantage of thisinvention'is that it relieves the tension normally present incommercially finished fabrics without the usual fiat'tenf 1 ing of thefabrics so that sthey resist changes in dimensions r on subsequentwashing. l'he presentinvention also per-' 1 units liquids andfgasessuchvas steam tobe forced through n I fthe fabric while-it is"heingcompressed or. compacted.

The treatmentofthis invention achieves best results on 'heavyfabrics nottightly constructed. V; 7

. The-process and apparatus, of this invention, being capable of. i

continuous .use, may be arsed ion. finishing c alender'ingnapping,zshearing, heat setting, a scouring,

' f This example illustrates the treatment of awoven fabric 7 a I madefrom-yarn which'was'ia blend of 18.5% by'weight v of 6 denier polyesterstaple fiber, 36.5% by weight orf 3 V denierpiolyester staple. fiber,and 45% of70s wool. The

polyester fiberused was polyethylene terephthalate. The

woven fabric was mapped in the griege with two passes on the face andone pass on the back on a Gessner Rotary Napper, cropped on aCurtis-Marble single-blade shear, beck scoured at the boil for 1 hourand then dried.- At this point, the fabric was cutinto two e ual piecesand each piece was given a different finishing treatment. Samp le A wasfinished on the special apparatus pictured in FEGURE 1 and sample B wasgiven a conventional wet finishing treatment. 7 r 7 After each ofthe-fabrics was subjected to the respective finishing treatments, bothfabrics were given the same final finishing treatment, as (follows: l)Napped-fiaceonly on a Gessner Rotary Napper. (-2) Brushed and sheared-ona Curtis-Marble singleblade shear.

(3) Heat set--at 330 F. for leminute exposure, dry

width, with 4% foverieed in filling direction. (4) Rotary pressed-at 300F. (5 Semidecatedfor 3 minutes with steam ute with vacuum.

Each of the two sample fabrics was subjected to cer-' tain tests (formeasurement of fabric properties, and the results given in Table I showthe superior properties of and l, min-i those iabrics finished by thisinvention in comparison with conventionallyfinished fabrics. I 7 It hasbeen found that particularly desirable results are 7 obtained whenfabrics arefirst subjected to the compressional treatment of thisinvention, followed by the impact oscillatory treatment described invmycope-nding application U.S. Ser No. 5,523, filed January 29, 1960,

' now U.S. Patent No. 3,064,459. This sequenceot treatrnents for afabric greatly improves the stability of the fabric to'resist changes inshape and dimensions during conventional washing, laundering and dryingcycles.

Table I Wrinkle Crease' Bagging Mussiness Fuzzing retention 'ww s s t ss Norm-1, no change from original; 2, slight change from original s v 3,borderline objectionable; 4, objectionable; 5, 'unwearable.

. tiona ble in any testa r alone pi more: advantageously in conjunc ftionnvntlh ther types of finishing treatments, such as Anot rllustrationfj'of the processiaspects of yentiomaswell as its .utilityand. advantagesisgiven by since they, did not exceed .ljiclai-rnzThese-fign'resindicate that the sample A fabrics were superior to-thesample B conventionally finished fabrics the rating boarderline objec--In accordance with the patent statutes, I have se t forth "afdetaileddescription of preferred, embodiments ofmy invention. "It will beobvious that modifications and other embodiments may be made by thoseskilled in -the art without departing iromlthespirit of the invention"or the scopeof theiollo-wing 1. An im-provedlappanatus for-treatment ofa. fabric to increase its resistance to shrinkage, its cover, and itsfullness; comprising in combination, a first means .ior "continuouslymoving afabric having a-given iwidth and agiventhickness from a firstlocation to a 'second location,

a" seeond means positioned between the first and second locationsengaging the fabric evenly throughout itsthiclc 5 ness at asubstantially. uniformly distributed plurality of points'in a firstZone, a third means cooperating with said secondpmeans to apply asufficient force through saidsecond means to said fabricat each of saidpoints' in said I i first zone and evenly throughout the thickness ofthe fabric me direction inthe planeof the fabric suchthat the spa'c=-' 7ing betweenlsaid points is reduced and the thickness of the fabricisincreased without pleating to produce a'co mpression and compaction ofthe fabric in at least one direction;

a fourth means for maintaining elevated conditions of temperature andhumidity in said zone during application of said force to said fabric, afifth means cooperating with said third means to terminate applicationof said force to said fabric, a sixth meansfor releasing engagement ofsaid second means with said fabric, in which said second means comprisesan endless belt, said belt provided with an operative surface in whichare secured a plurality of even ly distributed flexibly-mountedprojecting fabric-penetrating elements, each having a fabric penetratingend and supported to move in a path which converges with the path ofmovement of said fabric in said first Zone and causes engagement of saidelements with said fabric at said plurality of points, in which saidthird means comprises an element with a cylindrical surface inengagement With said endless belt to change the direction of movementthereof in a curved path such that the flexiblymounted elements convergeto move the fabric-penetrating ends towards each other and compress thefabric surrounding 'said flexibly-mounted elements, in which said fourthmeans comprises a steam chamber located in said element with thecylindrical surface and a plurality of steam escape passages connectingsaid chamber with said cylindrical surface. i

2. An improved machine for continuous treatment of a fabric to increaseits resistance to shrinkage and enhance its cover and fullnesscharacteristics comprising in combination, a supporting frame structure,drive means mounted in said structure to engage and move a runninglength of fabric through a given path from a starting position to afinal position, a fabric compaction and heat treating assembly mountedin said structure inoperative association with said given path of fabricmovement, said assembly comprising an endless belt member mounted insaid frame structure for movement through a path of movement a portionof which at a given location substantially coincides with a portion ofthe given path of movement of said fabric length, a drive means for saidbelt member, said belt member comprishig a backingelement and aplurality of elongated flexiblynnounted elements, proje'cting from onesurface thereof, said flexibly-mounted elements being of substantiallyequallength and each pro; vided With a fabricapenetrating portion at theprojecting end thereof, said belt member so positioned and moved withrespect to said fabric thatas said belt member ap preaches said fabricat the location of substantial coinci-' dence of their paths ofmovement, said flexibly mounted elements penetrate said fabric topositively engage it evenly throughout its thickness at a plurality ofpoints, said assembly further comprising an elongated cylindricalelement mounted transversely to the direction of fabric and beltmovement in said supporting frame structure and in engagement with saidbelt member in said given location of coinciding paths of said fabricand belt member to deflect and guide the belt member 'a curved path suchthat theside of said belt member carrying'saidflexiblythe action of saidelongated cylindrical element, which decrease in spacing causes acontinuous compaction and increase in thickness of said moving fabricengaged by said fabric penetrating portions of said flexibly-mountedelements in said given location, said elongated cylindrical elementcomprising an exterior surface, an interior cham her, an inletfor thereception of steam under pressure,

given Width and a given thickness from a first location to a secondlocation, a second means positioned between the first and secondlocations engaging the fabric evenly throughout its thickness at asubstantially uniformly distributed plurality of points in a first zone,a third means cooperating with said second means to apply a sufiioieutforce through said second means to said fabric at each of said points insaid first zone and evenly throughout the thickness of the fabric in adirection in the plane of the fabric such that the spacing between saidpoints is reduced and the thickness of the fabric is increased withoutpleating to produce a compression and compaction of thefabricsimultaneously in the direction of its width and longitudinally, afourth means for maintaining elevated conditions of temperature andhumidity in said zone during application of said force to said fabric,in which said second means comprises an endless belt, said belt providedwith an operative surface in which are mounted projecting elements movesthrough a co'noavely curved path so that the spacing between said endsof said flexibly-mounted elements isydecrea'sed due to flexing of thebelt member onwhich the; elements are mounted by secured a plurality ofevenlyjdistributed flexibly-mounted projecting fabric-penetratingelements, each having a 40 fabric penetrating end and supported to movein a path which converges with the path of movement of said fabric insaid first zone' and causes engagement of said elements with said'fabricat said plurality ofpoints in which said third'means comprises anelement with a cylindrical surface in engagement with said endless beltto change the direction of movement thereof in a curved path such thatthefleXibly-mounted elements converge to move the fabric-penetratingends towardseach other and compress the fabric surrounding saidflexibly-mounted elements, in 'which said fourth means comprises a steamchamber located in said element with the cylindrical surface and aplurality of steam escape passages connecting said chamber with saidcylindrical surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent t v, UN TED STATES PATENTS iWood-head June 14 1938 ,535,734 cleaved 136 ,26, 195.0, p,FOREIGNPATENTS 453,187, Great Britain Sept. 7, 1936' g 1 by saidelongated cylindrical

1. AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TREATMENT OF A FABRIC TO INCREASE ITSRESISTANCE TO SHRINKAGE, ITS COVER, AND ITS FULLNESS, COMPRISING INCOMBINATION, A FIRST MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY MOVING A FABRIC HAVING AGIVEN WIDTH AND A GIVEN THICKNESS FROM A FIRST LOCATION TO A SECONDLOCATION, A SECOND MEANS POSITIONED BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECONDLOCATIONS ENGAGING THE FABRIC EVENLY THROUGHOUT ITS THICKNESS AT ASUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED PLURALITY OF POINTS IN A FIRST ZONE,A THIRD MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID SECOND MEANS TO APPLY A SUFFICIENTFORCE THROUGH SAID SECOND MEANS TO SAID FABRIC AT EACH OF SAID POINTS INSAID